


Apartment Complex Woes

by monophobian



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Drabble, F/M, Flirting, Sparks Fly in July
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:28:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25127008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monophobian/pseuds/monophobian
Summary: All Kagome wanted to do was cool down at the pool until maintenance could fix her air-conditioning. Seems like she wasn't the only one who had similar ideas.
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/Kouga
Comments: 12
Kudos: 62
Collections: Sparks Fly in July





	Apartment Complex Woes

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Heat Wave

Of all days for Kagome’s air conditioning to break, it had to be on the hottest day of the year.

Sweat was dripping down Kagome’s back. Her hair was plastered to her neck, her tank top was soaked through, and she was fucking miserable. It was still morning and she was already desperate for a break.

It was all she could to sit on her small balcony, waiting as patiently as she could for pool maintenance to finish. They usually did most of the cleaning at night, but there was always an extra to do they scheduled sporadically through the year to combat normal wear and tear.

Kagome wasn’t completely sure what they were doing or what the pool needed, but they were scheduled to be gone by 11:00 and she was counting down the minutes to when she wouldn’t be toasting in her apartment any longer.

The clock inched along. There was only so many things she could do to keep her eyes off her phone. She’d already texted everyone she knew, but between work schedules and vacations and a certain idiot’s ability to lose his phone every six days, she’d been stuck in silence. What she wouldn’t give for a distraction.

10:18 turned into 10:24 and then finally 10:36. Kagome walked back inside and switched out of her sports bra and panties to her swimsuit, not caring at how much cleavage the cut of the top gave her. Damn birth control made her breasts feel so heavy, but at least they were covered. Her phone flashed 10:39 and she spent the next ten minutes covering her skin in her favorite sunscreen, taking extra care to get all the parts difficult to reach. 10:50 and she eyed the shift sitting in the drawer next to her other swimsuits. That could help — at least until she got near the pool. No one could call her indecent if she were attempting to cover her skin, even if it was an extra layer to catch on her sweat.

She was grabbing her beach towel at 10:53, 10:54 had her sliding on her flip flops, and by 10:56, she was out the door and heading down the corridor to the stairs. The maintenance guys were leaving the gate as she hit the ground floor and 11:01, the pool was free and clear and ready for her to find some semblance of peace way from being cooked alive.

Her towel, keys, and phone were tossed onto one of the lounging chairs underneath an umbrella, she shimmied out of her shift and tossed that, too, and Kagome wasted no time diving into the water. It felt _amazing_. Cold and exactly what she wanted and no one around to keep her from taking advantage of the size of the pool.

Usually there would be a cluster of people in the shallow end making it almost impossible to get in or out without bumping into them. Or there were kids playing in the deep end, constantly getting out and jumping back in. They had lanes out for laps Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings, but only for an hour during the times for psychopaths and old people.

No one normal woke up before the sun by choice.

But it was easy to fall into swimming again. The burn and stretch in her muscles as she swam the length of the pool was welcome, though telling of how long it had been. Most of the swimming she’d done over the last few years had been leisurely and would still be today. Maybe she’d do a few more laps just to warm up her body and then enjoy the water, but today was about surviving the greenhouse that was her apartment, _not_ exercising.

Kagome acclimated to the chill of the water in no time and by the end of her third lap, she flipped over onto her back and floated out toward the center of the pool. The sun’s rays felt wonderful against the cool water. What she wouldn’t give for an inflatable float right now. It was the perfect day for one, but after the Great Floaty Incident of 2013 where one disgruntled kid stabbed another kid’s new birthday present, the apartment complex banned all devices of the floating kind from the pool area.

Something about parents complaining and kids crying and general politics all boiled down to not letting Kagome fully enjoy the amenities her rent was supposed to offer.

Her hand brushed over against the rough surface of the side and she turned back over the swim across the length again. She wanted to spend as much time in the water as she could before she laid out on the chair. The office had said it wouldn’t be until 2:00 at the earliest that someone would be able to look at her broken unit and staring at her phone until then wouldn’t be fun at all. Maybe she could tire herself out and then nap in the sun?

As she turned for her next lap, a flash of movement caught her eye. Two tanned legs went up to black board shorts and she kept looking up as the man stripped off a green shirt.

Oh, _hello_.

Kagome dipped down in the water, trying to hide her face as she took in bronzed skin and muscle adorning a broad, sculpted back. He tossed the shirt onto the lounging chair he’d selected and she dove under the surface before he turned around and caught her gaping.

Since when did her apartment complex house a man who looked like _that?_

She felt his leap into the water as she finished her lap in the shallow end and took a breath as she turned to continue. He was already starting on a lap, seemingly following the pattern she set. That would be nice, she thought with a smile as she began swimming again. It had been a long while since she swam laps with anyone else.

Kagome only did a few more, just enough to get her blood pumping and a burn settling in her limbs. She could do more, but she wasn’t out here to exercise, she reminded herself as she swam toward the ledge. She was just here to escape the blistering heat of her apartment.

And maybe learn a little more about the sexy man who apparently lived near her.

Muffling a laugh, she lifted herself out of the water and onto the pavement. The lounge chair was warm from the sun when she stretched out on it, leaving her towel alone. No point in using it now when she could dry out in the sun. And she always liked hopping back in the water after tanning, so she could use it then.

He was still going, his body moving seamlessly through the water. Judging from his form, it seemed he swam far more seriously than she ever did. The sleek line of his back and the powerful kicks of his legs were telling; the man was no stranger to swimming competitively. What was he doing here in this pool? Shouldn’t he have found a bigger one at the gym?

Thoughts full of all the reasons why he would choose not to be here, she relaxed under the sun. She’d have to reapply her sunscreen as soon as her skin dried. Kagome wasn’t so worried about being darker as much as she simply enjoyed spending a day laying the sun with nothing else to do, but the last thing she wanted to deal with was a sunburn.

The rhythmic splashes from the pool started to alter and slow and Kagome cracked open an eye to see what her mystery man was doing. He was near the deep end, currently in between the chair she was one and the chair that held his shirt. Was he going to get out?

He moved and her breath caught as he rose out of the pool. It was like a porn shoot. His hair trailed his broad shoulders, water sluiced down that beautiful back in a caress, and his swim shorts were plastered to his legs.

Good Lord, that man had an ass. How had she missed it before?

He padded over to his lounge easily enough, reaching for his towel. Kagome gasped in outrage when he roughly rubbed the towel over his hair.

It was loud enough for him to pivot toward her and when his eyes met hers, she blushed furiously.

“Sorry,” she stuttered out, “but you’re hurting your hair.”

He stopped mid stroke, the muscles in his arms bulging at the angle to hold the towel in place. “Am I?” he asked with a half smile that sent her heart skittering in her throat. “Then how should I be doing it?”

Swallowing, she rose to her feet and forced her legs to walk around the ledge of the pool. His eyes tracked her movements, his face settling into an unreadable expression. When she reached him, he bent down to help her reach the top of his head. This close to him, Kagome could not miss how much muscle was _everywhere_ and it was harder than she expected to keep her eyes focused on his hair. Gently, she took the towel and slowly soaked up the water.

“Like this,” she said. “If you scrub at it like you were, you’ll just make it frizzy.”

“It has to get washed anyway,” he said. “The chlorine did more damage than my towel.”

Okay, that was a valid point, but— “ _Still_.”

He chuckled, a low sound that Kagome felt dance down her spine.

“Do you fix everyone’s hair-drying technique or am I just lucky?”

Hairs on the back of her neck stood on end at the husk in his voice. Oh, she was in danger. “You might be the first person I’ve said a word to out here at the pool.”

He hummed in response, seemingly content to let her have her way with his hair. “Do you come out here often?”

“Not really.” Kagome gathered the hair off his shoulders, coaxing it dry with the towel. “It’s always too busy when I have time, but my a/c chose today to break, so this was a better option than dying upstairs.”

“Pity.”

She caught his eye, confused as to the meaning of that response. Pity that she didn’t normally swim, pity that her air conditioning broke, or pity that she wasn’t currently stuck upstairs? “Do you?” she asked instead.

“When I can.” His shoulders shifted and she had a feeling if he weren’t hunched over, that would have been a shrug. “I try to take advantage of having a near-empty pool whenever it works out.”

She finished with his hair, knowing she got the most of it. Dropping the towel onto the chair, she idly combed her fingers through the strands. “I’m surprised you don’t use a gym to swim.”

“I haven’t found one I like yet,” he answered easily. “And if this one works, no reason to spend more money.”

His reasoning made sense, though she was curious as to how often he actually found a near-empty pool. Probably when everyone else was at work, she figured.

“Would you feel more comfortable if I sat down?”

Jolting out of her thoughts, she released his hair. Good lord, she had been practically petting him. She didn’t even know his name and she was _petting his hair_. “I’m so sorry,” she rushed out, already taking a step back.

“No, it’s—”

“You must feel so weirded out, having some strange woman paw at your hair.” She took another step.

“Wait—”

“I didn’t mean—” Kagome never got the rest of her sentence out. The next step backward didn’t land on pavement and she shrieked as she fell into the pool. Her arm hit the side, her foot dragged over the pavement as she sank, and water closed over her head. It stung her eyes and nose and it was only instinct that kept her from breathing in.

There was another splash from the surface and Kagome’s brain finally caught up with where she was when two strong arms circled around her stomach and pulled her back into a hard chest. Feet kicked behind hers and too soon, her head broke the surface.

Gasping in air, she let him swim the both of them to the closest step and settle her to sit in the water.

A few deep breaths later, she scrubbed her face in embarrassment. She just _fell_ in the _pool_.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his hands brushing over her shoulders and down her arms.

Kagome tried to shake him off and failed. “Yes,” she rasped, “yes, I’m okay.”

“Does anything hurt?” Those hands left her arms and traveled down her legs, brisk and thorough and utterly professional, dammit.

“My pride?”

She heard his chuckle over her blood pounding in her ears. “Anything else?”

“I might feel it later, but I’m good for right now.”

“I was scared you were going to hit your head on the way down.”

“Nah.” She took in a slower breath, mentally retracing those ill-fated steps and rotating her shoulder. “My arm took that blow.”

He nodded, his hands finally disappearing. He was effortlessly treading the water, his gaze touching over everything his hands didn’t to make sure she was okay. Kagome was almost crazy enough to think she could feel that touch through the water.

“You moved fast,” she laughed, hoping to get his attention off her fall. Didn’t really help when she stretched out her legs and arched her toes. Oh yeah, she definitely scraped up the bottom of her feet. Shoes were going to suck for the next couple of days.

He slid aside in the water for her, settling next to her on the step. “I was a lifeguard through college. It’s a habit.”

More pieces to the puzzle of this man and dammit, she was still wanting to know more. “I was okay,” she smiled meekly. “The worst you had to worry about was me trying to stay under long enough to not have to face you again.”

The responding smile he gave her was sweet and no less charming than the smirk he’d thrown at her earlier. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“A little worse for wear, but nothing that’s permanent.”

“The name’s Kouga,” he said after a moment’s pause, holding out his hand.

She shook it, smiling when he didn’t let go. “Kagome.”

“Will you dry my hair for me again?” he asked, his smiling deepening. “I’ve been told that I’ll just ruin it.”

She laughed, feeling some of her embarrassment slide away. It was hard to hold onto it when he continued charming her like that. “Maybe,” she responded, letting him shift her in the water until they were sitting closer. “Are you done swimming for the day?”

“I wasn’t planning on staying out here much longer, but I could be persuaded depending on what you’re doing.”

“I was going to take another swim after laying out in the sun for a bit,” she said with a smile in her voice, “if you’d like to join me.”

His grin kicked up one corner of his mouth and his blue eyes danced as he looked from her to her lounge chair and back. “I guess it would be irresponsible of me to leave you alone out here,” he teased, his shoulder brushing hers. “Who knows what kind of trouble you’d get yourself into?”

Kagome smiled, letting him continue closing distance between them. As soon she figured his guard was down, she splashed water at him and dove off the step before he could retaliate. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she called over her shoulder as she reached the other side of the pool.

“You don’t?” Kouga was still sitting where she’d left him, wiping water from his face and giving her a look that sent heat simmering in her lower belly. “Not even a little?”

“Nope.”

He slid in the water, all grace and muscle and smooth movements that had her head spiraling with all sorts of things she should not be thinking about. They’d just met, she creeped on his hair, then showed her ass by falling in the pool. Surely his thoughts wouldn’t be near the same vicinity as hers.

“Then maybe I should show you,” he said with a wicked grin on his lips. He lunged, but she managed to move quicker and shot out of arms’ reach before he grabbed her. “Oh, you going to play it that way?”

Kagome did not imagine the husk in his voice when he asked that nor the answering shiver at her lower back. His eyes were dark, reflecting off the water as he swam toward her again, and this time, his grin was hungry.

She couldn’t wait to find out what would happen when he caught her.


End file.
